In 1960, when a small group of American documentary film-makers named their work direct cinema, they might have been accurately describing the films of Frederick Wiseman, who has died aged 96. Although he came along a few years later, Wiseman, more than the others in the movement, exemplified the credo of direct cinema, which believed in an immediate and authentic approach to the subject matter.
Avoiding planned narrative and narration, Wiseman recorded events exactly as they happened. People were allowed to speak without guidance or interruption, while the camera watched them objectively, not interfering with the natural flow of speech or action. This was made possible by the advent of light, portable cameras and high-speed film, which allowed more intimacy in the film-making – what Wiseman called “wobblyscope”.
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